


Wahya

by BlackKittens



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: and a little venting about imposter syndrome with Keith as a mouth piece, this is basically an excuse to project one of my heritages onto Keith, this is short for a reason just letting you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 03:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16653769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackKittens/pseuds/BlackKittens
Summary: Shiro wants Keith to give his wolf a real name. Keith comes up with a good solution.





	Wahya

**Author's Note:**

> So, there's this wonderful Sheith fic out there that portrays Keith as half Navajo instead of Galra (it's a Western AU), and it opened up my eyes to part Native American Keith. I've also been trying to get in touch with my own roots again lately, including trying to learn the Cherokee language, so here's hoping my sources aren't wrong about the word "Wahya." If you're a native speaker and I'm wrong about the word (or the spelling), PLEASE correct me. I want to learn and improve.

"Come on, Keith, you have to name him something," Shiro implored, despite the wide grin on his face as he watched the wolf pounce on Keith's chest, lick his face, and teleport across the room so he could make another running leap for Keith's body.

"Baah!" Keith yelled as the wolf knocked him down again, his half-bent knees (that had been trying to stand up) buckling beneath him. "Down, boy! Down! I'll get you dinner after I change out of my uniform!"

Shiro gave a small chuckle, leaning against the door frame. He himself had returned home from work early for once (what a miracle) and was already changed into his civilian clothes. He and Keith had had plans to go out star-gazing tonight, after having dinner at an outdoor restaurant that had just opened a few weeks ago; however, a sudden downpour of rain accompanied by lightning had abruptly cancelled their plans before Keith even left the Garrison. So their date was going to take place at home instead. - That is, if the wolf wanted to let Keith out of the bedroom any time soon.

"Why are you asking?" Keith directed the question at Shiro, quickly grabbing his pet by the front legs before his paws could land on his chest for a fifth time.

He still fell over, of course, but the wolf seemed to get the message that Keith wanted him to stop. So he settled himself on his master's prone form instead.

"Ugh, what's gotten into you, boy?" Keith now addressed the wolf.

The wolf merely wagged his tail.

"I think he's been spending a _little_ too much time with the neighbors' dogs," Shiro let himself laugh as he said it. "Face it, baby; your pet's finally getting domesticated. Hey, maybe he'll play fetch with something other than my arm now!"

As if understanding a single word Shiro had said, the wolf suddenly sat up and shot Shiro's floating arm a piercing look that said, "You wish, Master's Mate. I'm debating taking your magic foreleg right now."

"Or not," Shiro's smile shrank. "But seriously, Keith, it's been how long since we got back to Earth? Everyone's been calling him Kosmo since you won't come up with your own name. You don't really think the wolf is going to _tell_ you his name if you wait long enough, do you?"

Keith glared from his place on the floor. "He will."

"Uh-huh. So, until he does, everyone can keep calling him Kosmo, right?"

Keith sighed, exasperated, as if they were discussing a more pressing issue than a pet's name. "Well, I can't stop them at this point anyway."

"Keith."

Keith forced himself up, shoving the wolf off his chest and into his lap. "What? What, Shiro? You don't want to call him Kosmo or the wolf? Is that it?"

Shiro crossed his arms. "I want to call him by a name you gave him that isn't just his, uh, kind of species?"

Keith set a hand on the wolf's neck. The wolf turned away from Shiro, looking at his master with what almost appeared to be raised eyebrows. The staring contest lasted a beat too long, and Shiro briefly wondered if the wolf, in addition to teleporting, was also telepathic and finally telling Keith his true name. Then he shook that thought off because it was ridiculous - Keith would have told him if he had telepathic conversations with his pet - and pushed out his own sigh.

"Baby, didn't you ever want a dog as a kid?" Shiro tried. "What would you have called that dog?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Dunno."

Shiro narrowed his. "Really."

With a huff, Keith gently pushed the wolf off his lap and rose to his knees. "Fine. Wahya."

Shiro started. "Excuse me?"

"Wahya," Keith repeated. "I'm probably not pronouncing it quite right because I'm nowhere near fluent in the language, but it's Cherokee. Wahya can be his name until he tells us his."

Shiro unfolded his arms. "You're...Cherokee, I'm guessing?"

"Yup," Keith nodded. "And if you say I don't look it, you're sleeping on the couch. But yeah, my dad was a mix of Japanese, white, and Cherokee. I'm probably only an eighth because I _think_ he was a quarter, but I know his dad was full Japanese and his mom was mixed."

"Huh," Shiro pushed himself off the door frame and walked over to sit on the bed. "That's interesting. You never told me that before. So, you know some of the language?"

"Not really," Keith admitted, petting the wolf's neck. "I know a couple words, a couple colors, and a couple animals. That's it. I can't even speak a full sentence, and I'm pretty sure my pronunciation isn't perfect. I don't know why, but I wasn't really raised with too much of the culture. I don't think my dad knew too much more than me, honestly."

Shiro frowned, sympathetic. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine being disconnected from your culture like that. I mean, it's not exactly the same situation you had with your mom's side. And, uh, well, I was born here in the US and I'm not the best at reading and writing Japanese, but I do have those connections; my parents made sure of it."

Keith shrugged, laughing awkwardly. "Yeah. Imposter syndrome likes to hit me like a bitch sometimes since I don't know a whole lot about that side of the family and don't even know where to start learning. I know I'm _Tsalagi_ , but like - it feels like a lot of it's been erased from the family history, you know? And I know that's more than likely due to years of racism and oppression and probably some shame in my family caused by the racism, but - I don't know what really happened, you know? In our line, I mean. My dad only talked about it and taught me so much before he died."

Shiro blinked. "Was - Was your dad ashamed of being Cherokee?"

Keith shook his head. "Nah, he never acted like that. At least, not in front of me. He actually told me he was glad he could teach me some of the words because, well...I mean, we're Japanese, too, but Japanese isn't a dying language, you know. He didn't want it to go extinct, so even though he didn't know a whole lot, he taught me what he could. I don't know. I think maybe his mom was the one who had mixed feelings about being mixed race. I definitely don't remember her teaching me anything. But then again, I was three when I was met her and five when she died."

Shiro nodded slowly. "Gotcha. So, is Wahya a common Cherokee name for dogs?"

Keith shrugged again, lips suddenly quirking up. "I have no idea. It's literally the word for 'wolf.'"

Shiro's face dropped. "Keith, I thought we were talking about this."

"We are," Keith grinned. "Wahya is a good name for a wolf who doesn't have a name yet."

"Keith."

"Wahya, let's play fetch with Shiro's arm. Take it to the kitchen, boy!"

Shiro jolted. "Wait, Keith, no - ! KEITH!"

**Author's Note:**

> The Cherokee language has been forgotten by so many descendants due to the effects of colonization, and there's only so many people who speak it today. Cherokee elders are concerned that the language will one day die out, so (from what I've read) they're always happy when young people decide to learn it. I wish I had native speakers around me to teach me, but as it is, I'm waiting to order a few Cherokee language books and dictionaries online to help me learn!
> 
> (And yeah, this fic was just a quick excuse to write Keith as part Cherokee and project some of my imposter syndrome feelings onto him. Nothing like using fiction to vent!)


End file.
